National Highways & Motorway Police to recruit 2,600 personnel

The National Highways & Motorway Police (NHMP) will recruit 2,600 personnel this year, and test centres are being set up in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana and Shaheed Benazirabad, the NHMP chief told a meeting held at the Central Police Office on Monday.

Chaired by Sindh police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon, the meeting was informed by the NHMP chief that the prime minister and the federal government are very serious about taking measures to protect the national highways.

He requested that the Sindh police provide security for the training centres and for the recruitment process. He said that over the past three and a half months 65,543 challans were issued, 246 cases were registered and 227 vehicles were stopped for overloading.

The meeting was told that the Sindh police fully cooperates with the motorway police in the registration of cases and other measures. Moreover, overloaded vehicles and vehicles carrying permits turn to the provincial highways and indoor cities for fear of being weighed.

IGP Memon said that a case should be registered against those blocking the highways and roads. Highways and roads will not be allowed to be blocked for protests, he added. He told the Hyderabad traffic police chief to ensure that the provincial highways and roads are free of vehicles that are carrying permits and excess weight.

As the focal person, the traffic police chief will establish links with the NHMP, while the Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana and Nawabshah DIGs will provide personnel and vehicles for patrolling and the prevention of traffic, ordered the IGP.

He said that a working group should be formed to contact motorway police officials, and that the Sindh police and the motorway police should implement joint highway patrolling plans. He also said the motorway training DIG should take steps to establish training centres, and provide security to the police for the recruitment of personnel. He also talked about the deployment of Sindh police at all the forks (weight stations) on the national highways.

In view of the prevailing law and order situation on the national highways, and the recent incidents of crime, strategies to make police deployment more effective and coordinated were considered.

The meeting was also attended by the motorway Addl IGP, the Karachi traffic police chief, and the Sukkur, Larkana, Hyderabad and Shaheed Benazirabad DIGs. Separately, a meeting was held in the conference hall of the East Zone DIG, with East Range police chief Ghulam Azfar Mahesar in chair.

The meeting was attended by all the police officers of the East Range, including SSPs of all the districts in the East Range, the DSP, the SHOs, the Admin DSP, the Operation DSP and the ZIB East Zone incharge, and representatives of the companies where foreigners are employed.

DIG Mahesar took separate briefings from all those responsible, and issued orders on the spot. He directed all the SSPs and other police officers to check the security arrangements of all the foreigners round the clock, and fulfil all the requirements.